Finally going to get some formal training

A goal for me in 2016 is to get formal training. A local school that's pretty well regarded just released their 2016 schedule. I'm taking their defensive handgun class in March, and Tom Givens is coming in August for a 2 day combat handgun class I will likely attend.

NOW, the really big question I'm wrestling with is, which handgun(s) to take? The gun I carry the most over the last 6 months is my trusty Colt 1991A1. It's been super reliable and accurate, and shooting it well is very easy.

I've probably put over 1,000 rounds through it, and it hasn't malfunctioned yet. At the same time, I hear about 1911's puking in these types of classes. Leaning towards taking the Colt, and maybe a Glock in reserve in case there are any issues.

1911's have a long history of the hammer hooks and/or the sears needing replacement in about 3-5k rounds. Not every one, but most. Keep that in mind as you shoot the beauty. It would do well to disassemble it every 2k rounds and measure the hooks and check the sear engagement.

Been to a couple of pistol training classes. Best was the Kathy Jackson class.

You're going to have a tremendous amount of info coming at you in a very short period. Last thing you want to do is futz with your handgun. That's why I would favor a Glock with a large capacity mag. You can always adapt what you learned to your '11.

And you'll want LOTSA mags, good quality factory ammo, a backup gun, lots of hydration and snacks, and a good mag loader like an UpLua.

Congrats. I have to get off my fatass and get some training in ARs and pistols. Perhaps at Gunsight or similar training facilities.

I went to the class, and had the best time I've had in a really long while.

It was a one-day class for defensive handgun. We spent time learning to identify pre-attack cues, how to escalate verbal warnings when being approached by someone giving those cues, and spent time role playing and practicing those things while moving off the direct line of attack. That training alone was worth the price of admission. I learned a lot about how to try to avoid the "bad situation."

And then the shooting started. I decided to take a Glock 19, following CF's advice above and I was sure glad I did. We fired about 350 rounds in total. First from low-ready, then from the draw, then while drawing while moving off the line of attack, then drawing, firing, and reloading all while moving and under the clock. As the progressions went on, we were firing more quickly and more often. We did malfunction drills using one dummy round in a magazine, spent a lot of time on reloading drills, and did them all under time pressure.

They had a great way of adding time pressure. First one student would do the drill, and his/her time became the par time you had to try to beat. For about 20 minutes I had the fastest draw to first shot time (1.3 seconds), until someone finally beat my time.

The thing I learned while firing to meet the par times was how fast I can actually shoot. We were usually shooting pretty close, at 5 yards, and trying to beat the par time, so I finally got over my need for nice tidy groups. By the end of the day I learned just how fast a Glock 9mm can fire.

Also had a lot of fun shooting from a retention position at a target arm's length away. It's a surreal feeling shooting at cardboard and feeling the heat wave come back at you.

I had an excellent time, learned quite a bit, and I can't wait for the next class, which will be Defensive Shotgun.

Other things I learned: (1) reloading sucks, (2) while I didn't experience a non-intentional malfunction with my Glock, having a malfunction would really suck in a fight, and (3) the Glock 9mm has more going for it than I realized previously.